Samsung is a big name in cameras, and it's an even bigger name in
Android devices. Bringing the two together was logical -- perhaps even
inevitable. The result is the Samsung Galaxy Camera.
This isn't the first camera I've looked at that runs Android -- that was the Nikon Coolpix S800c -- neither is it the first to run downloaded applications, as the Sony Alpha NEX-5R
did that, too. It is the first Android camera from a big name in
tablets and phones, however, and that's what makes it interesting.
The Samsung Galaxy Camera is available for RM1899(RRP).
Spec
Galaxy Camera is much more than a phone with a better camera bolted
onto the back. For starters, the camera itself has a 16.3-megapixel
backside-illuminated CMOS sensor that puts out 4,608x3,456-pixel images
and has been engineered to draw less power. In front of this, the lens
sports a 21x zoom, equivalent to 23-483mm on a conventional 35mm camera.
That puts it firmly into the realm of the superzooms.
The 21x zoom can be controlled by both physical buttons and the touchscreen.
At the widest end of that range, the maximum aperture stretches to
f/2.8. At full telephoto, it's f/5.9, and in either instance the
tightest position is f/8.
Sensitivity tops out at ISO 3,200 with compensation of +/-2.0 EV in
one-third stops. In manual and shutter priority modes, the shutter speed
runs from 16-1/2,000 second, although auto mode won't hold it open for
any longer than 1/8 second.
More than just a humble camera -- this snapper has special powers.
It's got 10GB of built-in flash storage, of which just 3.87GB is
available for use, for storing photos and apps. Additional storage is
handled by a microSD card.
Android
The really exciting part is what Samsung has done with the operating system. It runs Jelly Bean -- Android 4.1 -- and can be upgraded. The Nikon S800c, on the other hand, ran Gingerbread -- Android 2.3.3 -- which in tech terms is starting to look a bit long in the tooth, now almost two years old.
The 'computer' side of the device will be immediately familiar to
anyone who has used an Android tablet or phone before, and as you'd
expect you can organise the widgets and icons for your most commonly
used apps on the various home screens.
The 'tablet' side of this camera will be immediately familiar to anyone who has used Android before (click image to enlarge).
Where Samsung has let its imagination run wild, though, is in the camera app itself.
Camera app
Faced with the opportunity of a 4.8-inch screen and the challenge of
building an Android-based interface that wouldn't intimidate less
technical users, it's recreated the best features of both a dSLR and a
compact in its software.
It's all controlled by tapping and dragging the screen, without a
stylus in sight, as the only physical buttons are the power, shutter
release and flash release. The zoom is physical, too, implemented as a
regular rocker around the shutter button, but you can tap the screen to
both focus and fire the shutter, as well as start video recording.
The
interface is entirely touch-based. With the minimum of physical buttons
and dials you switch modes on-screen (click image to enlarge).
Various fly-out overlays at the top and bottom of the screen let you
set the flash, timer and so on, as well as picking creative filters,
such as sketch, sepia and cartoon, all of which are previewed in real
time.
Live effects are selected using the pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen (click image to enlarge).
The mode selector has been rendered in software, too, allowing you to
drag through the various image types you want to capture or switch to
one of the manual modes, such as shutter- or aperture-priority.
It's here where Samsung has really pushed out that proverbial boat,
with each of the applicable settings, such as speed, aperture, exposure
compensation and sensitivity rendered on a series of graphical wheels
that you literally drag into new positions like tumblers on a safe. In
many ways it's similar to the intuitive i-Function feature on the
company's NX lens system.
It's
easy to set advanced options -- you simply drag the wheels on screen,
with a live preview of the result updating on the fly (click image to
enlarge).
It also has voice control. This isn't new on tablets -- we've already
seen it in Google Voice Search and Apple's Siri -- but it's a first for
photography. Switch it on and you can literally tell it to zoom in or
out, activate the flash, set the timer, change the mode and so on. The
four options for firing the shutter are a particularly nice touch, with
regular "capture" and "shoot" commands supplemented by "smile" and
"cheese".
Automatic synchronisation
Samsung is bundling the Galaxy Camera with a one-month data SIM on
the Three network, which you can top up once it expires or swap out for a
rival network if you prefer. This is used not only for the browser,
email and so on -- you can also use Wi-Fi -- but also sharing your
photos using the built-in Instagram, downloaded third-party tools like
Twitter and Facebook and, most intriguing of all, Dropbox.
Dropbox support is built-in, and Samsung has bagged a deal to give
all Galaxy Camera buyers a free 50GB account for two years. If you
already have a Dropbox login, as I do, you can sign in with your regular
credentials and your account will be upgraded with an additional 50GB
for that length of time.
With built-in Dropbox support, the Galaxy Camera can automatically upload your images to the server as soon as they're shot.
The reason for bundling so generous an amount is that every picture
or movie you shoot is synchronised straight back to your account, so
it'll be waiting for you on your PC or Mac when you get back home. It's
pretty impressive taking a photo at your desk and seeing it pop up on
your computer screen a few seconds later.
This means you could get away with never removing the microSD card
from your Galaxy Camera, by simply wiping its contents every time the
sync is complete.
Stills performance
So, it performs pretty well as a piece of networked hardware, but is it any good as a camera?
It's easy to focus, quick to zoom and responds in a snappy manner to
taps of the on-screen shutter button or a press of the hardware
equivalent. I was very happy to see this, as when we tried the Galaxy
Camera at the IFA trade show earlier this year, it was very sluggish.
Samsung has really sharpened it up since then.
Image stabilisation is very effective and makes it possible to take
sharp, focused shots at 1/50 second without the use of a tripod.
The
light was starting to fade when I took this shot, so the Galaxy Camera
extended the exposure time to 1/50 second, yet it was still possible to
hand-hold the exposure (click image to enlarge).
Macro performance is particularly strong, setting a wide aperture to
very effectively drop off the level of focus in short order both behind
and in front of your subject. The resulting blur is even and attractive.
Macro
mode is very sharp and exhibits an attractive and rapid fall off in the
level of focus away from your chosen subject (click image to enlarge).
Minimum focusing distance in macro mode is a little lacklustre,
however, at 10cm, and you can't set the macro from further away and zoom
in to your subject to avoid shadows. When shooting in regular modes
you'll need to be 80cm or more from your subject.
In overcast conditions, when shooting in auto mode, some of my skies
were bleached out. In regular use, there was also some differentiation
between the clarity of the result captured at the centre and edges of
the frame and, more seriously, considerable colour fringing along sharp
contrasts -- in particular where branches ran across an overcast sky, as
you can see below.
There
is clear evidence of chromatic aberration in this shot where the lens
hasn't quite focused each wavelength of available light on the same
position on the sensor (click image to enlarge).
Low light performance is good, and even when you push it to the limit
-- ISO 3,200 -- the level of grain, while fairly significant, doesn't
impact the level of detail to such a degree that you lose finer
elements, like the whiskers and fur on the cat below.
At
high sensitivities there is a fair amount of noise in the captured
result, but fine detail such as fur and whiskers is still easy to
discern (click image to enlarge).
Still life test
The still life test is performed under studio lights, ambient light,
and with the aid of the onboard flash, in each instance using auto
settings wherever possible.
The best result was achieved under studio lighting, as is the case
with most cameras, with the Galaxy Camera producing a very balanced
result. Colours were accurate, and with sensitivity pinned at ISO 100
the result was largely grain-free. There was also a clear distinction
between similar tones, such as the inside and outer rim of the white cup
at the back of the scene.
When relying on ambient light the results were very cold and the
colours lacked the vibrancy of the frame shot under studio lights. In
order to capture sufficient light, the camera slowed down the exposure
to 1/10 second and increased sensitivity to ISO 800, and as a result
introduced a level of grain that impacted the clarity of the result when
compared directly with the previous shot.
Enabling the onboard flash brought back the punchy colours and
reduced the sensitivity to ISO 100 again. In some parts of the image the
flash had caused the colours to be burned out, however, including the
forehead of the toy polar bear and the front of the paint pot lids.
Under
ambient light the Galaxy Camera produced a cold result in the still
life test, but captured a punchy set of colours both under studio
lighting and when using the onboard flash (click image to enlarge.
Whether this is a camera with tablet features, or a tablet with a
decent camera strapped to the back will depend very much on how you
choose to use it.
Samsung's vision is that you'll take it on your travels, download an
app to help you find the sights, use a map app to get to them, snap them
using the camera app, edit them in-situ using the bundled graphics and
video apps and share them directly with friends by 3G or Wi-Fi. It's a
big ask of any camera, but in this case it actually delivers.
The marriage of the two core functions -- tablet and camera -- is
successful, and neither one has a detrimental impact on the other.
Further, the opportunity afforded by its Android foundation to re-think
the camera interface is one that Samsung has grabbed with both hands,
with excellent results.
The camera itself is good. It's not the best you could buy for the money -- particularly not now the excellent Samsung EX2F
is getting cheaper -- but as a package this is the best of the two
Android cameras currently available. Buying a better dedicated,
non-Android camera would mean you'd miss out on the most compelling
features here.
In that respect, the Galaxy Camera is a unique proposition, and one
that's easy to recommend. It already feels mature and stable and,
considering its extra features, pretty good value, too.
